Downfall
by The Pusillanimous Platypus
Summary: After a deadly first contact with a new race of humans, the decision is made to send undercover operatives into the Twelve Colonies. Soon however, with the Colonies burning, the surviving Tau'ri agents find themselves on the run. As they fight to stay one step ahead of the pursuing Cylons, they must also beware of their fellow humans in the fleet.
1. Prologue: Hard Contact

**Downfall**

Prologue:

 ** _Tau'ri Battlecruiser_ General George Hammond _, Space, 3rd April 2010_**

Earth's newest battlescruiser – the _General George Hammond_ – named after the late commander of the SGC and later Homeworld Command, glided smoothly through space, thousands of light-years distant from the tiny pale blue dot that was home to the ship and its crew. Having completed its maiden voyage nearly six months ago, the _Hammond_ was now on active duty. With the Lucian Alliance fracturing from within and the Wraith on the defensive in the Pegasus Galaxy, it had been decided that now was a prime time to explore further afield in the Milky Way Galaxy.

The doors to the bridge slid open with a hiss and a striking blonde-haired woman, clad in US Air Force overalls strode purposefully onto the bridge of the _Hammond_. Colonel Samantha Carter-O'Neill, former leader of SG-1 and the Atlantis Expedition, not to mention saviour of Earth on countless occasions, was the commander of the _George Hammond._

"Good Morning, Ma'am." The XO, Major Kleinman greeted her as she approached the commander's chair, which he obligingly vacated.

"Morning, Dave." Carter replied with a smile. "Anything to report?" Her tone was quite informal, considering her position as commander of the ship – it was a habit she picked up from Sheppard during her yearlong stint on Atlantis. Not that it mattered though, certainly not in the eyes of the crew. The Colonel was one of the most respected officers on Earth and, indeed, across a large portion of three different galaxies.

Kleinman shook his head. "Nothing out of the ordinary, Colonel. Most systems are operating at optimal capacity. There's a small shortfall in the efficiency of thruster seven on the port side, but it's only a discrepancy of 6%. Doctor Kelly is taking a look at it now, but he reckons it'll need fixing properly when we go home.

Sam nodded. "No other issues?" She asked. The XO shook his head. "Well, if that's the only problem, then we're doing pretty well – the ship does incorporate elements from four different technology bases. Still, keep an eye out for anything else that needs looking at."

The next few hours were quiet, but not uneventful, as the _Hammond_ made another short hyperspace jump to allow several of the scientific personnel to observe and study the fantastic scenery of a nearby nebula.

The _Hammond_ was just readying for another hyperspace jump to begin its return journey to Earth, when alarms began sounding across the bridge. The well-trained crew responded quickly and professionally.

"Multiple unknown contacts detected, Colonel." The sensor operator reported crisply. "Picking up three contacts, 35,000 kilometres distant, bearing zero-eight-four degrees."

"Sound action stations." Carter ordered calmly but firmly. She turned back to the sensor operator. "Can we identify?"

In turbulent times such as these, with the Lucian Alliance running rampant, the Free Jaffa Nation on the verge of fracturing from within and several minor Goa'uld still haunting the Milky Way, you could never be too careful in situations such as these. Not to mention the fact that in a far-flung corner of the Galaxy such as this, the crew of the _Hammond_ could very well be marching headlong into a first contact situation.

"Negative, Ma'am." The man responded. "There is one larger contact and two smaller, but nothing that the Ancient or Asgard databases are familiar with."

"New contacts detected." Kleinman added. "Unidentified vessels are launching smaller craft, estimate one hundred plus – looks like a fighter screen."

"I want the '302s ready, but do not launch yet." Carter ordered. "These people obviously mean business. I don't want to provoke them into anything hostile."

There was also the matter of the _Hammond's_ own fighter complement being massively outnumbered by the opposing fighter screen. Even though her ship could now deploy four squadrons of the new F302E fighter/interceptors with the folding-wing configuration – a total of 32 craft – they would still be outnumbered 3 to 1. Those weren't the kind of odds Sam wanted her pilots to face, especially against an unknown force.

"Colonel, we're receiving a transmission from the other ships." Captain Lisa Satterfield informed her a few seconds later from her position at one of the other consoles.

"On speaker." Carter ordered.

There were a few seconds of static before a slightly disembodied male voice crackled into life over the radio channel.

 _"Unidentified vessel, this is Admiral John Metcalfe, commander of the Colonial Battlestar_ Heracles _and Battlestar Group are trespassing in restricted space. Identify yourselves immediately."_

Carter exchanged a glance with her XO. "Not too friendly, are they?" She commented drily. "Open a channel." She ordered Satterfield. Receiving a nod from the Captain, she addressed the man on the other end of the line. "This is Colonel Samantha Carter, commander of the Tau'ri Defence Vessel _General George Hammond_. We are on a peaceful exploration mission and have no hostile intentions towards you or your people. If we have entered a sensitive area, we are willing to leave immediately. That said, we would be interested in opening relations between our peoples."

Following her comments, there was almost a full minute of silence from the 'Colonials' before a response was forthcoming. When it did, it wasn't comforting.

 _"This is Admiral Metcalfe. We have no knowledge of any group called the 'Towry'. There are no other nations apart from our own Colonies and the Cylons. This leads me to conclude that you are either a criminal smuggling or pirate vessel, or that you are Cylons."_ There was another brief pause. _"Heave to and prepare to be boarded."_ He added threateningly.

Carter cursed softly under her breath.

"Satterfield, have you finished scanning their ships? What are we up against?"

"Yes, Ma'am." The younger woman confirmed. "Three ships – one roughly fifteen hundred metres in length and the other two, half that size. Scans indicate that they are pretty low-tech by the standards of most space-faring races we have encountered: no shields and they seem to rely on kinetic energy weapons and missiles. They have thick, armoured hulls, but nothing the APBs can't handle."

Carter frowned but nodded her thanks. Pressing a button on the arm of her chair, she re-opened a channel to the 'Colonials'.

"Admiral Metcalfe, this is Colonel Carter. We have no desire for hostility between our peoples. I will order my vessel to withdraw immediately."

This time, the radio remained ominously silent. After a few seconds, Kleinman called out a warning.

"Colonel! The Colonial fighters are accelerating towards us. It looks like they are moving into attack formations."

"Turn us about. Get us out of here, Major. I think we've outstayed our welcome." Carter ordered.

 **###**

In a manoeuvre that left the Colonial crews stunned, the _Hammond_ made a sharp 180° turn and accelerated swiftly away from the advancing Colonial ships.

Thirty seconds later, before the fighters could catch the BC304, a greenish-blue vortex formed ahead of the battlecruiser only to flicker and fade a moment later. On the bridge of the _Hammond_ , Carter was demanding answers from the engineering section.

"Doctor Kelly, what is wrong?" It was abundantly clear to everyone aboard the _Daedalus-Class_ battlecruiser that they had not entered hyperspace as planned.

 _"We've suffered a malfunction in the primary power conduits in the hyperdrive, Colonel."_ The Chief engineer reported over the intercom. _"I can re-route power through secondary conduits but it will take some time."_ He added.

"How long do you need?" The Colonel asked simply.

 _"Uh, ten minutes, Colonel."_

Carter sighed and looked across to her XO.

"Turn us back around, Major." She instructed. Turning to another officer she added: "Wepps, get me a firing solution on that mothership with the beam weapons. Prepare all railguns for defensive fire. Load tubes one through ten with Mark VIIIs."

She looked across to Satterfield. "Captain, tell Major Hailey to launch all squadrons."

 **###**

The _Hammond_ was only half-way through its turn when the Colonial fighters closed to firing range and opened fire with their cannons, spewing a hail of lead into darkness as they tried to disable their target's engines.

To the shock of the Colonial fighter pilots, their fire never reached the target. Instead it was effortlessly shrugged-off by the small battlecruiser as a shimmering wall of bluish energy materialised around the ship.

The Colonial fighters pulled up to make another attack run but two of them were not fast enough and slammed into the _Hammond's_ shields, their pilots dying fiery deaths as their Vipers were consumed by twin fireballs.

Enraged at the loss of two of their comrades, the Vipers wheeled around for another attack run on the mysterious trespasser.

This time however, the _Hammond's_ guns did not stay silent. All across the hull of the battlecruiser, railguns opened fire, swiftly destroying sixteen of the attacking fighters before the survivors broke off their attack run.

Moments later, the three Colonial warships, realising that their fighters were outclassed, launched a barrage of more than fifty missiles at their new opponent.

Instead of fleeing from the onslaught, the _Hammond_ accelerated towards the Colonials, the railgun batteries effortlessly swatting away dozens of the incoming missiles. Still, four warheads made it through the wall of lead and exploded, brightening the darkness of space with their nuclear fire.

 **###**

On the bridge of the _Hammond_ , Colonel Carter squinted slightly as a bright flash filled the viewscreen. Even with the window automatically tinting to reduce the glare, the sight was still unpleasantly bright.

"Shields are holding at 91%, Colonel." A crewman informed her.

 _These guys are serious. Time for the gloves to come off._ Carter thought grimly.

"Fire all beam weapons." The Colonel ordered calmly.

Seconds later, four bright blue beams of plasma lanced out from the BC304, reaching through space to strike the mighty _Heracles_. The first beam grazed the starboard hangar of the battlestar, burning away armour plating and exposing the hangar to space. The next three beams struck in quick succession, each hitting the main hull of the huge vessel and triggering a wave of explosions.

The damaged battlestar, crippled and without power, started to drift lifelessly through space. Thirty seconds later a wave of secondary explosions tore through the ship, sending the wounded warship and its crew to a fiery death.

 **###**

"Enemy mothership has been destroyed." Kleinman reported as calmly as if he were commenting on the weather.

"The escort ships are pressing the attack." Satterfield added. "Looks like they are coming in at full speed and launching multiple fighters.

Carter nodded in confirmation. "All railguns target those fighters – there are too many of them for our '302s to handle. Wepps, target the nearest escort with beam weapons and prepare to beam a Mark VIII onto the other."

 **###**

Major Jennifer Hailey rolled her fighter sharply to port to avoid a volley of fire from an enemy fighter as it sped towards her head-on. The shots missed by a hundred metres or more. Not wasting a second, Hailey put her fighter into a flawless Immelmann turn, bringing her up behind the enemy who had now passed her. Getting her target in her sights, she fired a short, one second burst from her twin railguns. The armour piercing shells pierced the Viper's fuel tank, causing the craft to burst into flames as Hailey claimed her third kill in as many minutes.

Glancing down at her radar, she saw that the largest enemy capital ship had been destroyed. The display showed dozens more, smaller, signatures approaching her squadrons though. She activated her radio.

"All squadrons, this is Spitfire." She addressed her pilots, using her own callsign. "We have multiple bogeys inbound. Everybody pull back and take up position around the _Hammond_.

 **###**

Almost as one, the F302s disengaged from the battle with their Colonial opponents and fled towards the _Hammond_ , utilising their superior speed to outrun the Vipers. The Vipers pursued, only to run headlong into a deadly wall of flak from the _Hammond's_ railguns which tore the small fighters apart. A dozen or so fighters made it through the maelstrom, only to be picked off with ease by the F302s that had regrouped around the Tau'ri battlecruiser.

The remaining Colonial ships pressed forward, desperately pounding at the _Hammond's_ shields with everything in their arsenals, only for the BC304's shields to effortlessly deflect the onslaught.

Then the beam weapons fired again. Two beams of plasma shot out from the battlescruiser striking the nearest escort head-on, piercing the ship's reactor and triggering another huge blast that vaporised the ship.

In desperation, seeing the demise of his sister ship, the commander of the remaining Colonial vessel ordered a short FTL jump. His ship vanished in a bright flash of light, only to reappear a mere ten kilometres from the _Hammond_ and instant later.

 **###**

"Shit!" Satterfield exclaimed harshly as the Colonial ship reappeared much closer to the Tau'ri vessel. "Colonel, they're heading straight for us – I think they're going to ram us."

Carter didn't hesitate.

"All ahead full. Helm, dive us underneath them." She ordered. "Tell the '302s to pull back. I want to hit these bastards with every railgun we can bring to bear on them."

 **###**

The _Hammond_ surged forward, even as the pilot put the ship into a dive to get underneath the Colonial ship. Nearby, the F302s quickly disengaged from their dogfight with the dwindling numbers of Vipers, once again fleeing at full speed. This time, the Vipers didn't pursue. Instead, the Colonial pilots switched their attention to the battlecruiser beneath them, lining up strafing and missile runs against the enemy ship.

It was a futile gesture. The Vipers didn't stand a chance of piercing the BC304's shields. Still, the _Hammond_ wasn't out of danger yet, as it kept rushing towards the oncoming Colonial escort ship, even as it struggled to dive beneath it.

In the end, the _Hammond_ made it with less than a hundred metres to spare. That was when two-dozen railguns opened fire again, spewing a torrent of armour-piercing shells into the unprotected belly of the Colonial ship.

The heavy armour of the escort was quickly overwhelmed by the huge volume of fire and within seconds dozens of heavy rounds were tearing through the ship's interior.

 **###**

The _Hammond_ passed the Colonial ship in a matter of seconds, then sped away before turning to face the enemy vessel once again.

"Alright. Let's see if our friends are ready to surrender yet." Carter said.

The enemy ship was clearly badly damaged from the _Hammond's_ latest attack.

"Open a channel." The Colonel instructed.

Before the communications officer could carry out the order, the Colonial ship exploded, taking with it the surviving fighters that had clustered nearby to defend it.

For a few seconds there was silence on the bridge of the _George Hammond_. Then Colonel Carter started issuing orders again – less urgently this time.

"Major, scan the wreckage to see if there are any survivors. Captain Satterfield, please transmit a coded message to Homeworld Command. Inform them that we have encountered and defeated a group of unidentified hostiles at our present location. Inform them that the _Hammond_ will be returning to Earth forthwith."


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's note:**

 **I forgot the disclaimer in the last chapter, so here it is now: I don't own either Stargate or Battlestar Galactica, or anything else you might recognise in future chapters.**

 **Also, as you probably guessed, this is an AU so obviously it won't follow the canon of either SG or BSG. I might write a prequel at some point in the future, focusing on some Stargate OCs and explaining a few references I make in this story, but that certainly isn't imminent.**

 **I have written the first couple of chapters for this story already, so I'll post them fairly quickly once I've checked them. After that, I'll probably slow down a bit.**

 **Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I really appreciate it. I'm writing this mainly for my own enjoyment, but if anyone else enjoys it then that is a definite bonus.**

 _ **Robo Reader** **21:**_ **That's a fair point actually. I probably should have thought of that myself! :)**

 **Enjoy the next chapter.**

 **P.S. Apologies in advance if any characters are _out_ of character.**

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 **Downfall**

Chapter 1:

 _ **Stargate Command, Colorado Springs, Earth, 11**_ _ **th**_ _ **April 2010**_

The great stone ring that was the Stargate was a sight that he would never tire of. It was more than six months since he last travelled through the 'Gate and years since he had travelled to another world on a mission. A part of him was glad that the fate of the world no longer rested quite so firmly on his shoulders and yet another part of him longed to travel through the wormhole on missions once again.

O'Neill was snapped out of his musings as the Stargate gave a loud mechanical 'thunk' as it activated.

" _Unscheduled offworld activation."_ A technician announced from the control room as the Trinium iris slid shut over the gaping maw of the Stargate.

To O'Neill's ears, those words would never sound quite right coming from anyone other than Walter. Instead, Walter was now stationed in DC with him, acting as his aide.

 _Maybe I could get them to play a recording of Walter's voice every time the 'Gate activates._ O'Neill thought to himself. It was definitely an issue to bring up with Hank.

A few seconds later there was a distinctive 'kawoosh' as the wormhole formed behind the iris.

After another few seconds the technician in the control room announced _"Receiving Midway IDC."_

O'Neill glanced back at the control room and nodded. "Open the iris." He ordered.

The iris swung open again to reveal the shimmering blue event horizon and a man and a woman emerged a short time later, each carrying a duffel bag and wearing the standard black combat fatigues and leather bomber jackets favoured by the senior Atlantis Expedition personnel, though devoid of any insignia.

The man stood about five foot eight, with short, dirty-blonde hair and several days worth of stubble on his reasonably handsome, though hardly memorable, face. Even in the safety of Cheyenne Mountain, his stormy grey eyes flitted warily around the room, scanning for danger.

The woman was nearly six inches shorter. Her light brown hair was drawn back into a messy bun, with a few strands falling loose to frame her lightly-tanned, heart-shaped face. Unlike her companion, her amber eyes seemed to sparkle with barely-concealed mischief and humour.

"Stone. Macy." O'Neill greeted the pair warmly as he motioned for the security detail to stand down. "Good to have you back again."

Major Emma Macy returned the General's smile. "Good to be home, Sir." She replied.

Even after working alongside the pair for over seven years, the presence of an English accent in the halls of the SGC, deep below Colorado Springs, still seemed out of place to O'Neill.

 **###**

Indeed, it was certainly a strange arrangement.

Major Emma Macy and Captain Alex Stone had originally been part of a small-scale British Army project, codenamed Operation Titan, using a teleportation device that required the ATA Gene to operate it. About 18 months into the project, Macy and Stone had been captured and taken as Goa'uld hosts for nearly a year before escaping imprisonment inside their own bodies. After that, the two British officers had worked with the SGC for several months before once again going MIA, presumed killed.

In fact, a stargate malfunction had landed them in the Pegasus Galaxy, two years before the arrival of Doctor Weir's expedition. Once the Atlantis Expedition re-established contact with the SGC, Macy and Stone had returned to Earth, whereupon O'Neill had arranged for them to be assigned directly to him as his personal 'trouble shooters'.

Since then, the two officers had conducted a variety of covert missions, ranging from hunting down surviving Goa'uld, to infiltrating Wraith outposts, to stealing Ori technology – and everything in between.

Even less well-known than their role as O'Neill's personal trouble shooters, was that one year after being stranded in the Pegasus Galaxy the two officers, having formed a close bond during their time working together, were married in an Athosian ceremony. Due to the extenuating circumstances (a.k.a. being stuck in another Galaxy with no apparent prospect of return) a blind eye had been turned to the flagrant breach of regulations. After that, it had been O'Neill's influence and insistence on their effectiveness as a team that kept them working together, rather than being transferred to separate commands.

 **###**

"So, how goes it in the Pegasus Galaxy?" O'Neill enquired as he led the two junior officers towards the briefing room.

"All in all – pretty well." Stone commented. "Doctor Keller has refined the gene therapy further and initial trials suggest that the side-effects present in the previous version have been eliminated. Sheppard and Woolsey have nearly finished negotiations with Todd."

"Todd wants to check the results himself," Macy interjected "but assuming his findings are the same as Keller's then Todd's faction will start taking the treatment in the next three months."

The trio reached the briefing room and O'Neill opened the door, holding it open for the others, before taking his seat at the head of the table. Leaving their duffel bags and jackets at the other end of the table, the younger officers sat down as well.

"Any chance the other Wraith will agree to take the treatment?" O'Neill continued.

Macy shook her head. "Unlikely. In fact, Todd reckons that even one of the Hives _he_ commands won't accept it."

"He does think that there are two other Queens who might be open to it, though." Stone amended.

Macy nodded. "That is true, but the problem is that most Wraith see feeding on humans as a way of life. They think that if they switch to feeding 'normally' then it will make them weaker."

"Any truth to it?" The General interrupted.

"Well, yeah. Feeding on humans like they do now, a Wraith could potentially live forever." Stone said. "Eating food like the rest of us would shorten their lifespan significantly."

"To what?"

Stone shrugged. "Five or six thousand years?" He guessed.

O'Neill raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise. Even with the myriad of medical advances that had been obtained via the Stargate, the top doctor's at the SGC still predicted that 250 years of age would be the _absolute_ limit for humans (assuming you didn't want a snake in your head or to go psychotic from using a sarcophagus). Compared to that, five thousand years may as well be an eternity.

"Unlike most Wraith though, Todd – and possibly a couple of other factions – have the foresight to realise that that immortality isn't actually attainable at the moment, what with the food shortages and us to contend with." Macy clarified.

"So we are still stuck fighting a battle of attrition, slowly wearing them down." The commander of Homeworld Defence summed up.

"Not necessarily." Macy corrected. "Rodney thinks he may have come up with a plan."

"Which is?"

"The Avenger virus and the Attero device." Stone supplied.

The two British officers exchanged an amused glance as O'Neill muttered through gritted teeth something that sounded a lot like "... Fucking Felger..."

Smirking, Stone explained further. "Rodney has found the schematics for the Attero device in Janus' lab. He thinks that if we infect the Pegasus 'Gate network with Ba'al's modified version of the Avenger virus..."

"Then we can trap the Wraith." O'Neill concluded, nodding in understanding. "If they try to enter hyperspace, they get destroyed. If they stay where they are, then we can send our ships to pick them off one-by-one."

"And, because nobody can use the network, no exploding Stargates."

"Rodney and Radek are confident that it will work, but they want to run the simulations past Colonel Carter first, seeing as she has first-hand experience with the virus." Macy explained.

"Well, in that case, you can ask Sam later when we see her." Before his subordinates could ask why they would be meeting with Colonel Carter, O'Neill continued. "How about the actual reason I sent you back to Pegasus?" He enquired.

"Ladon Radim's intel. was correct; there was a rogue Genii faction – led by Cowen's brother – plotting a bio-weapons attack on Atlantis and several of our allies in Pegasus."

"And?"

"The threat has been eliminated." Macy smiled thinly.

O'Neill clapped his hands together and leaned back in his overstuffed chair. "Excellent. I expect a full report later." He paused for a moment, eyeing the two younger officers. "Now, I guess you want to know why I recalled you?"

"If it isn't too much trouble." Macy smirked humorously.

The General opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a word, he was engulfed in a brilliant white flash of light and vanished.

To most people this would have been quite startling, to say the least. Instead, Major Macy just raised her eyebrow slightly and let out a soft sigh. She glanced across at Stone.

"Another bad habit she picked up from Thor?" Her remaining companion suggested wryly.

Emma nodded in agreement.

A few seconds later, the two British officers were beamed away as well.

 **###**

 _ **Jack O'Neill's Cabin, Silver Creek, Minnesota**_

After an exceedingly brief stopover on the _Hammond_ , which was currently stationed in geosynchronous orbit over North America, Macy and Stone were beamed back to the planet below. This time, they found themselves re-materialising on the dirt driveway of a small log cabin, nestled amidst a forest of pine trees.

"You're late!" A stern voice barked from behind them.

The pair turned around to be confronted by a grinning Jack O'Neill, one arm wrapped around his wife's waist, the other hand clutching a bottle of beer. "Beer's going warm." He added. "I should put you on a charge for that."

Sam, still dressed in her uniform overalls, gave her husband a light punch in the arm. "Oh, leave them alone, Jack." She turned to face the newcomers, a welcoming smile on her face. "It's good to see you again, Emma. You too, Alex." She greeted them.

Emma walked over and gave Sam a brief hug. "Likewise, Sam."

Sam released her friend, then gave Stone a quick hug as well.

"Good to see you, Sam." He smiled, stepping back and putting an arm around Emma's shoulders.

To some, the lack of formality shown by the two junior officers might have suggested a lack of respect for the chain of command. The truth however, was the complete opposite. Stone and Macy held the General and Colonel in the highest respect but in their years of working together they had formed a close friendship. As such, rank was strictly limited (by O'Neill's orders) to when they were on base or in the field – in an informal setting like the O'Neills' cabin, military protocol went straight out the window.

"Seriously, come on in." O'Neill prompted again. "I know you Brits like your beer warm, but I won't tolerate such barbarism in _my_ house."

"You know," Stone commented as he and Emma followed Jack and Sam into the cabin "the whole thing about warm beer is actually a common misconception..."

 **###**

Jack and Sam sat on one sofa, while Stone and Macy occupied another. The next hour or more was spent chatting amiably, the four friends catching up on the happenings of the last few months. To both the O'Neills' amazement, it seemed that the plan to use the Avenger virus in conjunction with Janus' Attero device actually held a lot of merit.

 _Who would have thought it? Doctor Jay Felger really did have a use after all._

"Which brings us to the reason I called the two of you back from Pegasus..." O'Neill started. Stone and Macy both put their drinks down on the coffee table and leaned forward, listening intently.

"Probably best if Sam explains – it is her story, after all." O'Neill suggested.

Sam began her tale, briefly explaining the background of the _Hammond's_ latest mission.

"Anyway, we were just preparing to jump away from the nebula and start the trip home when three ships dropped out of FTL."

Stone immediately picked up on Sam's choice of words.

"FTL? Not a conventional mode of hyperspace travel?"

Sam shook her head. "If I had to guess, I'd say it was more like the experimental wormhole drive on Atlantis."

The Colonel was started to launch into a technical explanation but a warning of "Carter" from her husband caught her attention.

"Technobabbling." Jack mouthed silently.

Sam gave a bashful grin then went back to her tale.

"Anyway, we introduced ourselves but, long story short, their Admiral didn't believe us and attacked. We went to leave, but suffered a hyperdrive malfunction. We had to fight them."

"I take it you won." Macy smirked.

Sam inclined her head slightly in response.

"And that's where you kids come in." O'Neill said, taking over. "I've spoken with the _IOA_ " Jack added, speaking the name of the International Oversight Advisory as if it were a curse "and they agree that although these Colonials' technology is clearly inferior to ours, they appear to have significant space-faring experience and are a major power in this region of the Galaxy. They, and I, think we need to learn more about them. I'd like the two of you to take a cargo ship into the area where the _Hammond_ encountered them and try to track down their homeworld.

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 **Not really sure this works as an end to the chapter, but hey, this is my first fanfic.**

 **Hope you enjoyed it.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:**

 **Thanks again to everyone who reviewed. It's nice to see that the response seems generally positive.**

 **Also, thanks to everyone who pointed out my mistake in the prologue. Yes, the _Heracles_ was supposed to be 1500m long, not 1500 _kilo_ metres! I have now changed this.**

 **Somebody also asked about the rating. To be honest, I've only just started writing fanfiction so I'm playing it a bit on the safe side. That said, the story will get darker, but probably not until after the fall of the Colonies.**

 **Hope you all enjoy the next chapter.**

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 **Downfall**

Chapter 2:

 _ **Colonial Space, The Cyrannus System, 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **April 2010**_

Over two weeks had passed since the disastrous first contact between the Twelve Colonies of Kobol and the Tau'ri. Five days after the destruction the _Heracles_ and BSG 34, with Picon Fleet Headquarters having failed to receive any sort of communication from Admiral Metcalfe, the Battlestar _Pegasus_ , under the command of Rear Admiral Helena Cain, had been dispatched to investigate. The search, beginning at the _Heracles'_ last known position, was brief. Within a day, Admiral Cain had discovered the twisted chunks of debris that marked the final resting place of Battlestar Group 34.

A few days ago, one of the SAR Raptors had finally managed to retrieve the black box data recorder from the cruiser _Aerilon_ – there was so little left of the other two ships that Cain and her crew had quickly reached the conclusion that any sort of salvage attempt would be impossible. The _Aerilon_ , on the other hand, was in a far better condition, comparatively speaking.

Not that that was saying much. The cruiser had still been torn to pieces by a catastrophic explosion.

So far, all that had been reported on the news, back in the Colonies, was that BSG 34 had been lost with all hands and that the Fleet was now conducting an investigation. For now, the Admiralty was going with the provisional explanation of a catastrophic reactor overload onboard the _Heracles_.

Admiral Cain however, knew otherwise – the bullet-riddled vipers that they had discovered drifting lifelessly in the empty void were proof enough of that. Whatever had happened, there was no doubt that there was far more to this disaster than a technical fault.

That was why, until the geeks at the Colonial Fleet Research Centre could find a way to recover the information on the _Aerilon's_ black box, the Admiralty were being particularly cautious, having deployed three full Battlestar Groups to assist Admiral Cain in securing the location.

For the moment, the cause of the disaster may be a mystery but already there were whisperings, amongst those in the know, about Cylons.

After all, who else would shoot-up a battlestar and her escorts?

 **###**

Unbeknownst to the Colonials, another ship was approaching their perimeter.

Dropping out of hyperspace almost two hours ago near the edge of the star system, the small craft, shrouded by a field of invisibility, had proceeded at sublight towards the location of the battle that had occurred at the start of the month.

Though none of the Colonials would recognise it if they were able to see it, the invisible ship was actually perhaps the most common ship in the Galaxy: a Goa'uld Tel'tak.

In the cockpit of the cargo ship, Stone glanced across at his wife.

"Okay. I am transferring control to you, Em. In 3... 2... 1... mark."

He flipped a switch and control of the small vessel passed to Macy.

"I have control." She confirmed, immediately starting to make small alterations to their flight path.

Although Emma, having previously been a pilot in the Army Air Corps, was the better pilot Alex was more than capable of flying the ship. That said, now that they were about to begin the precarious task of weaving through the Colonial ships and the extensive debris field, they had both decided it would be prudent to have the better pilot at the helm.

"Let's see how our Colonial friends are getting on, shall we?" She suggested.

On that note, she put on a burst of power to the engines, sending the cloaked cargo ship speeding towards the jumble of Colonial activity.

Stone winced slightly as the ship surged forward. As they approached the small fighters that were circling the debris field, Emma showed no inclination to slow down.

"Um, you don't think we might be coming in a bit fast, do you, dear?" He asked, only partly joking.

"Nah." She dismissed her husband's concerns easily. She turned to look at Alex. "I'm far too careful for that. Besides, I need you in one piece for later." She added with a seductive wink.

Alex squeezed his eyes shut and sighed softly.

" _Please_ keep your eyes on the road, Em."

Emma smirked as she returned her full attention to piloting the craft.

"Yes, dear."

 **###**

Eight minutes later and the cloaked Tel'tak was positioned beneath the _Pegasus_ , hovering just twenty metres below the hull.

Inside the cargo ship, the atmosphere had turned more serious. Emma was still at the controls, but was now concentrating intently on holding their distance from the hulking battlestar.

A minute later, Stone walked back into the cockpit from the cargo bay. He was now dressed in black combat fatigues, a utility vest fastened over the top and a holster on his thigh containing the experimental L220 plasma pistol that both officers favoured.

He picked up a satchel from a bench, then pulled a black balaclava over his head, obscuring his features.

"All set. Let's get this over with so we can get out of here."

Setting the autopilot to hold the ship on a steady course beneath the battlestar, Emma turned her attention to another console.

"From what the scan of this ship – the _Pegasus_ , apparently – shows, I should be beaming you into a service shaft above the CIC." She turned around and gave her husband a sincere smile. "Good luck. Be careful."

With that, she flipped a switch, activating the Asgard beaming that had been installed on the cargo ship.

Alex Stone vanished in a bright burst of white light.

 **###**

 _ **Battlestar**_ **Pegasus,** _ **CIC**_

Admiral Helena Cain was stood at the plotting table in the centre of the CIC, with her XO – Colonel Jurgen Belzen – standing beside her. The two senior officers were conversing in hushed tones.

"So, any word on whether Fleet Intelligence have recovered anything from the _Aerilon's_ black box, yet?" Belzen enquired quietly.

Cain gave a soft snort. "Not a thing." She replied slightly bitterly. "Not that those frakkers at Intelligence would let us know if they did. After all, it's not as if we are the ones out here on the border, dealing with whatever happened to the _Heracles_ and her battle group."

Cain opened her mouth to add another disparaging comment about Colonial Fleet Intelligence when she thought she heard a muted, dull thud from the ceiling. The Admiral looked up, narrowing her eyes slightly at the ceiling.

"Sir?" Belzen murmured. "Is everything alright?"

Cain studied the ceiling in silence for a few more seconds before looking back at her XO and shaking her head.

"Just thought I heard something."

 **###**

In the maintenance shaft above the _Pegasus'_ CIC Alex Stone gritted his teeth to keep from making a sound.

The last thing he had expected to find in the narrow shaft was an abandoned tool which, on closer inspection, looked a bit like a screwdriver.

 _Which prat left that in here?_ He cursed mentally. Crawling through the tight vents in the darkness, Stone had not noticed the sharp implement until he placed his hand on it.

" _Alex? Is everything alright? Are you okay?"_ He heard Emma's voice speaking in his head.

To most, this occurrence would have been more than a little disturbing. For the Royal Marines officer however, it had become commonplace. When he and Emma had been captured by a brother and sister pair of minor System Lords, nearly a decade ago, the two Goa'uld had attempted to create the 'perfect host'. The process had involved a device similar to the one possessed by Nirrti. In addition to extending their lifespan, the two prisoners had also been provided with a telepathic link to each other. The Goa'uld siblings, who worked surprisingly well together compared to others in their species, believed it would help them in their schemes to conquer the Galaxy. Over the years, such an ability had frequently proved invaluable to the two officers.

Stone sighed as he raised his injured hand to his face so that he could examine the wound by the glow of the penlight gripped between his teeth.

" _I'm fine – just stabbed my hand on a tool that some idiot left in the service shaft. I'll be placing the device shortly."_

Taking a strip of cloth from his webbing, Stone quickly wrapped a crude, makeshift bandage around his hand before crawling a few metres further along the tube. Reaching a metal grille that provided access to the CIC, Stone paused again and removed another item from his equipment vest.

The object was a small black cylinder, about eight centimetres long. Stone pressed a button on one end and a moment later a tiny green LED began flashing intermittently at ten second intervals. Peeling away a strip of adhesive from the back of the device, he carefully slipped the object through the metal grille and attached it to the other side, just inside the CIC, above the conn table that was the ship commander's position.

His task completed, Stone carefully turned around and started making his way back along the service shaft.

 **###**

 _ **Cloaked Tel'tak, Colonial Space, The Cyrannus System**_

"You should be more careful, love." Macy chided softly as she removed the strip of bloodied cloth from her husband's hand.

"Tell that to the idiot who left a sharp piece of metal lying around. I mean, what-" He stopped mid-sentence, drawing in a sharp intake of breath through his teeth as Emma dabbed the wound with medicinal alcohol.

"Ow." He stated evenly, regaining his composure. "Thanks for the warning." He added sarcastically.

"Stop being such a baby, Alex." Emma said, rolling her eyes as she finished cleaning the wound and quickly and expertly wrapped a sterile bandage around his hand.

Tying off the bandage, Emma put away the medical kit then turned her seat to face the front of the cockpit again.

"Let's see what our new friends are up to, shall we?"

She entered a series of commands into the console beside her chair as Stone connected a tablet computer to the ship's systems. A few seconds later, an image showing the CIC of the battlestar _Pegasus_ appeared on the screen of the tablet.

 **###**

 _ **Somewhere near the Colonial-Cylon Armistice Line, 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **July 2010**_

Three months had passed since Stone and Macy had placed the secret recording device in the CIC of the _Pegasus_. By monitoring the CIC of the battlestar from a distance they had discovered that even without the black box of the _Aerilon_ , which had been sent to Picon for decryption, Admiral Cain and her senior officers had still been able to figure out a few facts about the circumstances surrounding the destruction of BSG34.

Aside from the bullet-riddled remains of more than a dozen Vipers, as well as the _Aerilon_ itself, one of the SAR Raptors had managed to retrieve the gun-camera of one of the destroyed Vipers. The footage it contained was badly damaged but was still sufficient to send a wave of trepidation coursing through the veins of the officers who witnessed it.

The _Hammond_ was clearly identifiable in the footage. Already the Colonials seemed to be re-mobilising much of their older, mothballed fleet.

One of the early reports back to Earth seemed to be causing concern in the halls of power. There seemed to be a very real possibility that the Colonials might retaliate against the 'Cylon' attack, thus making Earth responsible for triggering a major war.

After placing the device, the two British officers had stayed in the vicinity for two more days before they began their search for the Colonial homeworlds. The search was brief.

Within a day, they had discovered the first of the Twelve Colonies – Tauron – and were able to visit the others in the following weeks. Right now, they were in the process of searching an abandoned asteroid base just inside Colonial space from what they had learned was the Armistice Line.

 **###**

Pistols raised in front of them, the pair moved cautiously through the dark corridors of the abandoned facility, the tactical lights on their weapons casting a faint glow in the dim hallways. Turning a corner, their lights shone on a human-shaped form slumped against one of the walls.

Cautiously stepping closer, they got a clearer view of the corpse. It was the body of a man, probably in his early thirties. His arms hung limply at his sides, his eyes closed and his head drooping lazily onto his chest. At a glance, he could almost have been sleeping.

A quick check of his pulse confirmed otherwise.

This was not the first body they had discovered. A brief scan of the space station from the Tel'tak had detected no life signs. It had also revealed that there was no atmosphere in the asteroid base.

Boarding the station in pressurised space suits, it had only taken around half an hour to restore the base's life support. It was a simple problem to fix but the initial loss of pressure had probably been so rapid that the inhabitants had had no chance to respond, instead being suffocated as the artificial atmosphere was vented into space.

"Looks like he could have died yesterday." Macy commented quietly as she knelt beside the body.

That was another trend that the two Tau'ri had noticed as they explored the facility.

Stone nodded thoughtfully.

"Even with the life support functioning again, it's pretty cold in here. Before we restored life support, the temperature was the same as outside in space – it must have been like sticking this lot into a freezer." He surmised.

Emma sighed softly as she nodded in agreement. For all they knew, these people could have died years ago and been lying out here in the emptiness of space, missed by no-one. Placing a hand on each of the man's shoulders, she eased him onto the floor, straightening his body before closing her eyes and whispering a short prayer for the dead man.

It was obvious that the operators of this base had been pirates or smugglers, as evidenced by the wide assortment of weaponry as well as what appeared to be stolen goods and four ships of varying sizes, two of which – though clearly civilian in design – had been heavily modified with improved armour plating and weaponry.

Still, no matter who they were, being suffocated far out in the cold depths of space was not a fate that Emma Macy would wish on many people.

 **###**

Rising to her feet again, Emma continued to look at the dead man until she felt Alex's comforting hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to look at him and gave him a bleak smile.

Neither officer was a stranger to death – quite the opposite in fact – but seeing somebody dead before their time was still something to be regretted, even if it were the life of a stranger that had been cut short.

A sudden, urgent beeping from a device at her waist indicated an incoming transmission to the cargo ship. A few seconds later, they beamed back to the Tel'tak and Stone brought up the visual transmission on one of the screens in the cockpit.

 _"Good morning, campers!"_ The smiling image of Lieutenant General Jack O'Neill greeted them.

"Sir." They both replied, with a nod and a small smile to their superior.

 _"How's life in the Cyrannus System?"_ O'Neill enquired. It was over a month since his last contact with the recon team.

"No complaints, Sir." Macy replied. "We've visited each of the other Colonial worlds and spent some time monitoring their transmissions and gathering intel. Right now, we're just poking around an abandoned pirate asteroid base near the Armistice Line with the Cylons."

O'Neill nodded, looking mildly impressed. _"Cool."_ He stated. _"Find any fancy doohickeys for Carter to play around with?"_

Macy chuckled softly. The General's perceived bafflement at his wife's scientific interests was well known throughout the SGC. Those close to him could see through the bluff however – after all, a man with a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering could only be so ignorant of technology, even if it was alien.

"I think we have a few interesting trinkets that Sam will find interesting; a couple of things for Daniel, too."

"No 'big honking space guns' though." Stone added.

O'Neill slammed his hand on his desk in mock frustration.

 _"Damn. Anyway, the reason I'm having this cosy little chat with the two of you is because you are being recalled. The geeks at the SGC and IOA have been trawling through the stuff Carter brought back and, with the earlier intel. you sent back, the IOA have decided to deploy some covert teams to infiltrate the Colonies and learn more about them._

 _"I want you to come back and share the extra intelligence that you have gathered before I send you back out there. The IOA mission is going to focus primarily on examining Colonial society and how they might respond to being contacted by us."_

"Let me guess, you want us to evaluate their military?" Emma guessed.

 _"Correct. From what you and Alex have said, their technology is lagging far behind our own but-"_

"They do seem to have a lot of spacefaring experience." Macy finished with a nod.

 _"Right."_

"Not to mention the possible threat from these 'Cylons'." Stone added.

O'Neill nodded again.

 _"Precisely. Chances are, we won't ever have to fight a war with these people but it doesn't hurt to be prepared. There is also the potential threat to the Colonials from some rogue Goa'uld, Jaffa warlord or Lucian Alliance commander who might stumble across them. With their region of the Galaxy being relatively unpopulated, its not likely to happen but if it does, these Colonials would be easy prey to anybody with half a dozen Ha'taks. At the moment, we have most of our enemies on the run. The last thing we need is for one of them to capture a group of industrial worlds in a secluded sector and turn them into a power base."_

Macy nodded in agreement.

"Alright, Sir. Seeing as we're going to be coming back to this system, I'm going to leave a few supplies on this asteroid, in case of emergency. After that we'll head straight home. Should see you in under two days, Sir."


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:**

 **Hi, everyone. Sorry it's been a bit longer between these updates, I've been back at work and it has been a bit stressful at times. In future, expect this to be the length of time between updates.**

 **Thanks again to everyone who left a review. I really appreciate it.**

 _ **AchingHeart2011:**_ **Agreed. I'm afraid originality isn't my strong point! Still, glad you like the story so far.**

 _ **Suzy87:**_ **Thanks. O'Neill will make another appearance or two in the next few chapters, but mostly this story will focus on the Colonials. I do have a vague idea for another story that focuses on the rest of the Milky Way Galaxy during the events of this story, but it probably won't be written anytime soon. Sorry. Hope you enjoy this one though.**

 **In response to the guest who asked about the technical stuff for the F302: The F302E featured in the prologue is a single seat fighter. Apart from that and the folding wings, it is the same as the original F302. The Tau'ri will learn lessons from the design of the Viper but these won't appear until much later in the story, if at all. I'm afraid I haven't really gone into the technical details much though, so I will have to defer to your better judgement. As for the technological superiority of the F302s, you are probably right though.**

 **###**

 **###**

 **###**

 **Downfall**

Chapter 3:

 _ **Stargate Command, Colorado Springs, Earth, 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **September 2010**_

On the surface, a black AC Cobra pulled up to the guard post at the entrance to the Cheyenne Mountain facility.

An Airman, an M16 assault rifle slung over his shoulder, approached the classic car and nodded to the occupants.

"Sir. Ma'am." The Airman greeted them. "May I see your IDs, please?"

Stone handed the soldier both his and Emma's IDs from his place in the driver's seat. After a brief but thorough perusal of the ID cards, the Airman handed them back to the car's occupants.

"Thank you." He motioned for another Airman to raise the barrier. "Have a good day, Sir. And you, Ma'am." He paused before adding "Good luck." He had been around long enough to know that when the General's personal troubleshooters arrived on base, it was usually for some dangerous or top-secret assignment.

"Thanks, Tom." Stone smiled back before driving away to park the car.

 **###**

Thirty minutes later, after dropping off the keys to the Cobra with Sergeant Siler for safekeeping, Stone and Macy arrived at the briefing room. There were already half a dozen people dotted around the room reading through various reports. The two officers took their seats at the back of the room and waited for the briefing to begin.

Ten minutes later, a total of seventeen people had gathered in the room, including a young woman dressed in the dark brown leather tunic that was the uniform of the Tok'ra. After a few more minutes, General O'Neill entered the room alongside another man who they both recognised as Edward Thorne, Director of Special Operations for the IOA.

Thorne motioned to an aide in the corner of the room who started handing out dossiers to the men and women who had been assembled for the briefing. While the documents were still being disseminated, he began the briefing.

"As you will all be aware, on the 3rd April, the _Hammond_ was attacked by unknown forces during a routine survey mission to the outer reaches of the Orion Spiral Arm." He began. "The hostile forces were comparatively inferior to our own and were easily defeated by the _Hammond._ However, after further investigation of the 'Twelve Colonies of Kobol' that these attackers claimed to be from, Major Macy and Captain Stone" He said, nodding in acknowledgement to the two officers at the back of the room "were deployed on an initial reconnaissance mission. Having reviewed the information they gathered, as well as that collected by the _Hammond_ , the IOA has decided that these people are worthy of further investigation, with a possible view to peaceful contact in the future."

Thorne paused and O'Neill stepped forward to take over.

"Normally, we would be sending either a group of cloaked Goa'uld craft or the _Odyssey_ to conduct this covert mission." He explained. "Recently though, we received word from Ambassador Teal'c that the Free Jaffa Nation is on the verge of full-blown civil war. I know many of you will be thinking 'when are they not?' Well, the difference is this time, rather than a few random killings, it looks like the different factions are forming their own fleets and armies. Already, in the past month, there have been at least five large-scale engagements. Combined with the ongoing war in Pegasus and the clean-up operations against the Lucian Alliance and surviving Goa'uld, we simply don't have the resources to commit to such a long-term mission in the Twelve Colonies."

"That is where all of you come in." Thorne explained. "Your primary mission will be to infiltrate the Twelve Colonies and integrate into their society. Once there, your goal will be to gather as much information about these people as you can: social structure, government, attitudes towards different subjects, military capability and the like. You have all been provided with a personal dossier containing our latest intelligence on the Colonies, in addition to your assigned objectives and your personal cover stories.

"I want to reiterate this to you all: once you have been deployed to the Colonies, you will be completely without support from Earth. Each of you will be given a subspace transmitter to make your reports but if you get into difficulty, it is more than likely that you will be on your own. If we do receive word that any of you have been compromised or are in immediate danger, we will attempt to send an extraction team. Depending on the circumstances though, this could take weeks or even months."

 **###**

The briefing continued for nearly another two hours before the operatives were dismissed.

As Stone and Macy stood to leave, O'Neill called out to them.

"Stone, Macy. Stay behind for a minute, please."

He motioned for the three to follow him next door to General Landry's office, which he had once again appropriated for his own use.

"First off, there is something I need to attend to: Captain Stone."

"Sir." Stone replied crisply, standing at attention as he heard the General's formal tone.

O'Neill took a small black box from his pocket.

"Usually, this would be done by someone in your own army, but when I heard, I asked to be the one to do it." He opened the small box to reveal a pair of Major's epaulette insignia – a crown with 'RM' emblazoned beneath it. "Congratulations, Major Stone." He smiled warmly, handing the box to his subordinate.

Stone snapped a crisp salute.

"Thank you, Sir."

O'Neill returned the salute before shaking the newly-promoted Major's hand.

"It's been a long time coming, in my opinion."

Emma took a step closer to her husband and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Well done, Alex." She smiled. "Just remember that I'm still the one in charge." She added with a wink.

No doubt there were plenty of Generals who would be horrified at the lack of decorum but luckily the head of Homeworld Command had never been one to stand on formality.

O'Neill cleared his throat loudly, gaining the attention of Macy and Stone.

"Now, down to business." He said, motioning for them to sit down.

 **###**

"As you probably guessed from Mister Thorne's briefing, most of the operatives we send to the Colonies will be integrating into everyday Colonial society to learn more about them in a general sense. Your mission will be slightly different. Rather than a wide-ranging assignment, we plan to infiltrate you both into the Colonial armed forces; learning about their technology, organisation, tactics and capability will be your predominant focus."

"I assume we will be placed in the Colonial Fleet?" Stone surmised.

"Correct. Judging from your reports, the Colonial Fleet is by far the largest arm of their military – not surprising when you consider that any attack against them would have to be made from space. You said there was no evidence of a stargate on any of their worlds, right?"

"Right." Macy confirmed. "Seeing as their religious texts describe a journey through space in ships, that's not completely surprising though."

O'Neill nodded in understanding.

"Anyway, the plan is for you both to pose as junior officers – pilots to be precise – in the Colonial Fleet. There is more detailed info in your dossiers, but we think that that will put you in the best position to examine their effectiveness."

"Uh, won't it be difficult to make that convincing?" Stone wondered. "I mean, seeing as we don't have any of their aircraft intact to practice in?"

The General shook his head.

"Nope. The _Hammond_ was able to recover a number of damaged fighters and transports from the battlefield, as well as what we have discovered to be a flight simulator from the least-damaged of their ships. The geeks at Area 51 have been drooling over the things for months and have produced what they are confident are a pair of exact replicas."

Macy grinned like a kid on Christmas Day.

"Nice."

O'Neill smirked.

"I thought you'd like that." He looked back at Stone. "Alex, I know you don't have much training or experience as a pilot, like Emma does, but you have developed into a decent pilot over the years."

Stone nodded. It was true. He may not be the ace pilot that his wife was, but he was still more than capable, having flown everything from F302s to Tel'taks to Wraith Darts on countless occasions. With a bit of practice, he should be able to make a convincing Colonial pilot, if not a fighter ace.

"Area 51 is currently refurbishing an old Al'kesh that we captured from the Replicators, which will be used for the insertion into the Colonies. They plan to have it ready in two months time, so that is how long you have to prepare for this mission. The operation – which we have codenamed Operation Elysium – will commence on 9th November."

"Elysium." Stone mused quietly. "The Greco-Roman afterlife; I hope that's not where you think we'll end up." He joked.

"Hopefully not." O'Neill agreed.

Macy just shrugged.

"I don't see what the problem is with the name – it's not like we haven't all come back from the dead before!"

The three of them shared a quiet round of laughter. SG-1 may have had the highest temporary death toll amongst Tau'ri forces, but such situations were by no means unique to Earth's flagship exploration team.

A few minutes later, Stone and Macy stood to leave and prepared to depart for the Alpha Site where the pre-mission training would take place.

"By the way," Macy said, remembering something she had been meaning to ask. "I noticed we've got a Tok'ra coming along for this mission. Something to do with all those Greek Gods the Colonials worship?"

"Right." O'Neill confirmed. "We informed the Tok'ra High Council and they seemed pretty interested. They want to know whether there is any link to the Goa'uld, or if their religion dates back further to the earliest concepts of those deities. Dalara and her host, Tali Yelan, will be focusing mainly on that aspect of Colonial society, as well as looking into the Colonials' myths about Earth. Apparently they hope to get some leads on a few of the Goa'uld who have dropped off the radar. They think the Colonies might give them some clues."

 **###**

 _ **Alpha Site, P4X-650, 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **September 2010**_

With the recent construction of a new BC-304 shipyard on P4X-650, the Alpha Site was rapidly becoming the primary training centre for new F302 pilots and the crews of the new battlecruisers. As such, it was far from unusual to see the sleek, matte-black F302s weaving across the skies as their pilots put the aircraft through their paces.

What was unusual was the pair of drab-grey arrow-shaped craft that were currently flying low over the treetops.

In fact, this was the first time that such craft had ever been seen flying outside of the Cyrannus System, thousands of lightyears away.

Banking to starboard, Major Emma Macy expertly piloted her fighter down into a wide ravine, her wingman following close behind.

After a few minutes of flying through the canyon, she pulled up sharply, angling the nose of the Viper towards the sky. At twenty thousand feet, she levelled out and slowed the ship to a more comfortable cruising speed, allowing the other Viper to catch up.

" _Dammit, Em, you are_ crazy _!"_ She heard her husband's irritated voice crackle over the radio. Still, there was a bit of amusement in there too, she thought. _"They said to get a feel for these things, not push them to the limit on our first flight!"_ Stone scolded. _"_ You _might be able to pull death-defying stunts like weaving through a ravine at 200 mph, but_ I _almost ended up splattered across the canyon walls! When you said 'follow my lead' I didn't think you meant to the death!"_

"Sorry." Emma replied, grinning sheepishly. "Couldn't help myself."She opened a channel to the control tower. "Command, this is Medusa." She stated, using her callsign for identification. "We're going to take the Vipers out of the atmosphere and see how they handle in space. Are the target drones ready?"

" _Copy that, Medusa."_ A disembodied voice responded. _"You are cleared to leave the atmosphere. Target drones are ready and waiting. We will activate on your command. Control, out."_

"Okay, Stoney, let's go." Macy prompted, using her husband's (rather unimaginative) callsign. "Race you to the top!"

 **###**

Less than three minutes later, the two Vipers were in space, orbiting around the planet below.

About one hundred kilometres ahead of them were the target drones – five unmanned Deathgliders, modified for training purposes.

Macy activated her radio again.

"Control, Medusa. We are ready to commence phase two." She informed the Alpha Site.

" _Copy that, Medusa. Drones will be active in twenty seconds. Good hunting. Control, out."_

"Hear that, Alex?" She asked Stone. "You ready?"

" _As I'll ever be."_ Was the hesitant response.

Seconds later, the drones came online and surged forward in a classic arrowhead formation.

With a slightly unhinged cry of "Tally-ho!" Emma accelerated towards her targets.

 **###**

The dogfight was intense but brief. Although it was their first time in the cockpit of the Vipers, the humans were both experienced pilots and had studied the schematics of the new aircraft intensively over the past few days.

Macy took down two of the drones in quick succession. Stone took down another before being 'killed' by another of the drones. After that, the dogfight stepped up a pace as Macy desperately tried to keep one step ahead of the enemy Deathgliders. The Viper was not as fast as the F302, or the Deathglider on which it was based, but it was much more manoeuvrable. After another minute, Emma managed to shoot down another of the target drones before she too was 'killed' by the survivor.

Landing back at the Alpha Site, Macy and Stone were greeted by a group of F302 pilots as they climbed from their craft.

"Not bad." Major Frank Hopkins, CO of Black Knight squadron commended them.

"Pity you got shot down." Another of the pilots grinned. "Seriously, Stoney, only one kill? That's embarrassing!"

Stone gave the man a thin smile.

" _That_ , is why I prefer to keep my feet planted firmly on the ground."

"Ah, come on, Rosetti. Four out of five, the first time in a new plane? That's pretty good." Hopkins said.

Emma shrugged.

"Rosetti's right. Good thing we've got some time to practice. Those Vipers handle completely differently to the '302s – even in space, our fighters manoeuvre as if they are in atmosphere. The Vipers are designed almost completely around space combat. It's going to take some getting used to."

She paused and grinned at the other pilot.

"Still, give me a couple of weeks to get used to it, then I'll see how I get on against a live opponent."

Rosetti grinned back at her.

"It's your funeral, Macy."

"Yeah, yeah" Macy dismissed him teasingly as she turned to walk back to the hangar. "I'll kick your Yankee arse."

 **###**

 _ **Al'kesh transport, Orbit around Caprica, The Cyrannus System, 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **November 2010**_

After a day's travel in hyperspace from the Alpha Site, the ship carrying the Tau'ri operatives had reached the Cyrannus System without issue. With most of the agents already beamed down to locations on the other Colonial worlds, there were only four remaining in the cargo compartment of the cloaked Al'kesh as it arrived at the final insertion point.

The co-pilot's voice crackled over the intercom.

" _Agent Wallace. Agent Chen. We are in position and ready to beam. Please acknowledge."_

Agent Chen, the mission's Chinese representative, walked to the speaker on the wall and pressed a button.

"This is Chen. Agent Wallace and I confirm we are ready to beam." She confirmed, speaking with barely any trace of an accent.

" _Roger that. Good luck. Beaming in five... four..."_

Stone nodded to the two IOA agents as the co-pilot counted down. It was obvious from the countdown that the pilot was IOA – nobody in the military ever bothered.

"Good luck." He smiled at the pair, a moment before they were beamed away.

" _Alright, Majors."_ The co-pilot spoke again. _"You're next. Acknowledge."_

Emma walked to the speaker and activated it.

"Go ahead." She said simply.

She moved back to stand beside her husband in the centre of the cargo hold. It didn't escape her notice that he was looking slightly tense. As the co-pilot counted down, she took Alex's hand in hers and gave it a comforting squeeze.

He returned the gesture and gave her a small smile.

"Once more unto the breach..." He murmured.

A second later, they were both beamed down to the surface of Caprica. There was no going back now.


End file.
